


sunshine tequila

by ianplease



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: ( there's a tag for drunk suga i'm actually amazed ), Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Flirting, Drunk Sugawara Koushi, Drunk Texting, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, M/M, Pining, awkward daisuga, mentions of IwaOi, relatively slow development
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-07-15 00:31:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7198019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ianplease/pseuds/ianplease
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sugawara Koushi ends up texting the wrong number while inexplicably drunk and things go downhill all the way from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. wrong send

**Author's Note:**

> hello here's the "accidentally dialed your number while drunk asking for a ride and you actually came" au ft. daisuga (no one asked for this and i started this as a joke but i got too invested for my own good) 
> 
> quick note: alcohol consumption will only be shown at this chapter and the next chapter! for the rest of it, it (hopefully) won't appear again unless something comes up! i also added the implied underage drinking tag to be safe since i didn't really think of all their specific ages so oops (i'll fix it soon enough though!) 
> 
> addendum: i couldn't think of a proper title and this sounded appealing HAHA bye

“Suga, oh my god, easy on the drinks—” were the last few words that Sugawara Koushi remembered before getting absolutely smashed.

It originally started as a chill drinking session between him and a few of his classmates from his anthropology class. The ride to the middle of the semester was a rough one and they marked the submission of their midterm requirement with a small celebration. Oikawa was the one who planned the entire thing and because of that, the little party definitely pushed through.

Sugawara originally intended not to drink, but there was this little voice in his head that pushed him to do so. After all, it’s just a few shots! The drinks won’t be hard! His peers insisted on this and he couldn’t say no, because he did need a way to de-stress. Plus, he owed Oikawa a hangout since he kept bailing the last few times—it was inevitable though! Almost all his classes had something due the next day. He wasn’t going to risk getting a low grade in exchange for some fun that he could have scheduled some other time.

Now in this little room, in a particular hole in the wall karaoke bar, everyone seemed to be raring to go. Oikawa was already singing a song—it seemed to be an upbeat pop song—and everyone was taking sips of their mixes. Sugawara sat in the corner, a bit unsure on what to order for himself, but there were already bottles of liquor on the tables that his classmates decided on.

“Suga-kun, come on! Let loose for a little bit! You deserve it!” and other similar sentiments came from his classmates, so he figured it would be okay. It was just a little, right?

So he drank a shot.

And maybe a few more shots that turned to bottles, until he found himself drinking much more than he originally intended.

 

* * *

 

The phone buzzed on top of the books Sawamura had to analyze for a midterm paper for his literature class due in less than 24 hours. The brunet nearly cringed; he found himself almost dozing off when he heard the vibrations of his phone rough against the hardbound cover of a collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s works.

“Must be Tetsurou again—” he mumbled to himself as he reached out for his phone. His friend, Kuroo, definitely had a knack at texting him at odd hours, telling him about seemingly random chemical formulas and laws discussed over class. When said phone was finally in his hands, he lost his sleepiness when he saw the name flashed on the screen. As quickly as possible with shaky fingers, he typed in his pass code and stared at the message that he received only a few moments ago.

 ** _Suga 2:04 AM_**  
_Babe, pi ck me up, p ls?_

He felt his face warm up ever so slightly at the text. He wasn’t particularly close to Sugawara, let alone for the latter to call him something so affectionate like _babe_. A flurry of thoughts whirled through Sawamura’s mind as he tried to analyze this text. Maybe Sugawara meant to send it to someone else? Maybe Sugawara was smashed and ended up drunk texting him? Yes, that sounded like the more likely option. But why call him babe?

Sawamura was on the verge of ignoring this text because it must have been a mistake but he got another one a few minutes later.

 ** _Suga 2:08 AM_**  
_Pl s I reall y need t o get h om o_

 ** _Suga 2:08 AM_**  
_**hom e_

He found himself chuckle at the typo; it was really different to see this side to Sugawara. After all, all he knew him as was a group mate for two of his classes, and a classmate to an additional one more. He has always thought of Sugawara as someone who was calm and responsible; definitely not someone who would drink himself silly. Then again, he might have needed an avenue to release his stress and Sawamura wasn’t going to deny that getting wasted definitely was a fun option.

Taking a deep breath, he found himself replying to those texts the silver haired male had sent him.

 ** _Daichi 2:11 AM_**  
_Where are you, Suga? I’ll pick you up. Stay put, okay? Stay safe._


	2. omw there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi finally gets to the bar after a few mishaps but has to deal with a group of wasted teenagers in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i am back !! ( a lot faster than i expected, haha wow!! )
> 
> as stated, alcohol consumption would be until here unless something happens and i decide to utilize it again!! for now, pls enjoy wasted suga and worried daichi

Sawamura found himself at the address that he managed to decipher from his drunk classmate. Luckily, the karaoke place wasn’t that far from the apartment he stayed at and the descriptions Sugawara had sent him were helpful, at least to a certain extent. Admittedly, it was a bit difficult to understand which 7-11 and park the younger man meant, but the one text about the paintings of robots and fish on the wall certainly hit the mark. 

Additionally, the typos Sugawara made were terrible. Never in his life would Sawamura been thankful for autocorrect, but in fairness, it helped make things so much easier to decipher those texts he received from Sugawara.

He found himself in front of the establishment that seemed to be the right one; there was a colorful sign that read F A T E S with a few stars twinkling on the sides. He ran his fingers through unkempt, messy hair and made his way inside. 

He was greeted by a woman at the receptionist area and at that moment, he realized he didn’t know the details to where his silver haired classmate was staying. He didn’t know what name the reservation was made under, nor did he know the room number of the venue the party was taking place. 

“Um, this might sound a little weird, but would you happen to remember where a silver haired college student might be?” he asked coolly and professionally, even if he felt like the woman would end up staring at him with a confused expression. He wasn’t wrong but it was so embarrassing and irresponsible not to know basic details about the party. 

“… Beauty mark near his eye?” the receptionist asked after a somewhat lengthy silence.

He found himself surprised at the description. Nonetheless, he nodded as he formed a reply. 

“Ah, yes ma’am. S-sorry about that; I’m picking him up and he didn’t really say which room he was in—”

The lady laughed softly and smiled reassuringly at Sawamura, her honey coloured eyes warm and understanding. She didn’t seem irritated or frustrated at all despite him being clueless, which was good for him. He didn’t have to deal with cranky employees at such ungodly hours. 

“It’s okay! No worries. It’s nice of you to pick up your friend, dear. He’s in room 105 with his classmates. The reservation was made under an Oikawa Tooru if you know him.” 

_Ah, Oikawa?_ The image of his charismatic philosophy classmate came into mind. _Didn’t know they knew each other—_

With the information given to him, Sawamura promptly thanked the receptionist and made his way to the halls as he kept his eyes open for the room numbers of the stalls. The doors were painted with different colors, and he finally found 105 which was a relaxing mint green. He raked his fingers through his unkempt hair once more, tugged at the hem of his grey hoodie, and made his way inside. 

He was welcomed by the sight of some familiar faces singing karaoke on the top of their lungs, some unfamiliar faces sleeping in the corners. Oikawa was one of the few who seemed to be drinking something—it looked like a mojito—and generally, the entire place was a huge mess. 

He scanned the area to see where Sugawara may be, and lo and behold, he found his silver haired classmate dancing rather shamelessly atop of one of the couches. He was swaying his hips in such a carefree manner, and his arms were flung up in the air like he didn’t care. 

Sawamura gulped at the sight and had half a mind to take a photo of his classmate in such a state. _Maybe just one shot won’t hurt; I can probably show Suga the photo if he asks what happened—_

He pulled out his phone from his jeans pocket and sneakily took one, maybe five shots of the boy dancing on the sofa. He chuckled to himself, shrugging away the potential guilt that would feed off him much later on. After satisfying his ridiculous urge, he pocketed his phone and managed to maneuver through a group of wasted teenagers; and just as he was almost there to his goal, Oikawa draped an arm around him.

“Sawamura-kun! What a surprise to see you here~” Oikawa chirped, the smell of mint leaves strong in his breath. 

Considering that he saw the brunet approach in his direction, Sawamura wasn’t particularly surprised at the action. He tried to remove the taller man’s arm around his shoulders but his attempts were rather futile. For someone who was wasted, Oikawa’s grip was still pretty solid. 

“I, uh, yeah? Suga sort of told me to pick him up—”

“Ah?” his eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Koushi! Koushi~”

_Koushi? They must be close then—_

The silver haired teen reacted after a while; he tried to look around from where Oikawa was calling him from. His gaze was around the ceiling, only for it to have been brought down to the floor because of Oikawa’s arm waving about. He stepped down from the couch, almost stumbling in the process, before looking at the two who were looking at him with different expressions, namely Sawamura trying to suppress a laugh, while Oikawa had a huge grin on his face. 

“Koushi, Koushi! Sawamura-kun was looking for you.” 

With that, the taller brunet loosened his arm around the shorter male and made his way back to where he left his mojito. 

The two were left alone and the atmosphere was a little awkward. Sawamura scratched the back of his neck and tugged at the string of his hoodie a few moments later, trying to look for what to say. Before he managed to speak, Sugawara broke the silence. 

“What are you doing here, Daichi?”

His speech was rather slurred, his eyes sleepy looking. A confused expression painted his face and he was swaying a bit from side to side. 

“You texted me earlier, telling me to pick you up.” Daichi’s voice was gentle as he spoke; it was no use if he talked in a stern manner to someone who could barely walk a straight line. His lips were curled up into a soft smile, and he ended up ruffling Sugawara’s silver locks. 

“Wh—” the silver haired male fumbled through his pocket, checking his messages. It was a futile attempt, since all the letters were jumbled up and moving around. Phone still at hand, he pouted at his classmate. 

“You didn’t have to go—go all the way here, Daichi. I can go home by myself! I’m not five.” 

Some of the words he said were prolonged in a childish manner. Additionally, he also said home a few times before actually finishing his sentence. This display made Sawamura laugh once more and he couldn’t help but take Sugawara’s hand in his own. 

“I’m not leaving you here, especially after your texts, Suga. Let’s go, I’ll bring you home.”

Before any additional protests were made, the silver haired male was escorted out of the room, hand firmly grasped in the other’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> addendum: updates may be irregular from now on, sorry !!


	3. morning, sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after the entire incident, Sugawara finds himself not remembering anything from the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, i'm back! (sorry it took a while, i was working on future chapters hoo)  
> awkward daisuga, commence!

Around 11 AM, Sugawara started to stir. He slowly started to open his eyes; the light coming from outside the window was bugging him to wake up. A groan escaped his lips, and he proceeded to stretch out his arms from underneath the sheets.

_Wait—_

The ceiling he found himself staring at was unfamiliar. The sheets he was buried under weren’t his. The pillows under his head were _definitely_ someone else’s.

In a flurry of panic, he tried to get out of that bed he was in, only to find himself almost falling off. The swift movements made his head spin in the process. _God, this is a terrible hangover—_

After a while, he rubbed his temples and huffed. “Where the fuck am I—” he ended up whispering to himself, looking around the room to look for any clues. Before finding anything substantial in this mystery bedroom, someone showed up at the doorway with a look of relief on their face.

“Ah, I thought you weren’t going to wake up anytime soon! Good morning, Suga!”

Sugawara ended up staring in disbelief at the figure leaning against the doorway and before he realized it, words started to spill out of his lips.

“D-Daichi? What am I doing here at your place?”

Sawamura’s brows furrowed a little, and a small, somewhat exasperated smile was evident on his face. “You really don’t remember, huh? You were wasted at Oikawa’s party last night and you texted me to pick you up,” he paused and scratched the back of his neck. “And well, I didn’t really know where you lived, so I decided to bring you here at my place for the time being.” An awkward laugh escaped his lips. “I hope you don’t mind, Suga.”

Just as the pieces of information given to him were about to fit into each other, the silver haired male felt a strong pang of pain pound through his skull.

“Fuck—” he closed his eyes shut and rubbed at his temples with shaky fingers. “Oh god, sorry Daichi, I didn’t mean for all of this to happen— I didn’t mean to be an inconvenience to you. I’m really sorry.” he would have continued to apologize even more but his hangover was giving him hell. He opened his eyes and tried to focus on Sawamura, who was still leaning by the doorframe. “I can leave now; it’s okay. Really, it is.” with that, he made an attempt to stand up, which was quickly stopped by Sawamura’s words.

“In that condition? I don’t think so, Suga.” he walked over to the silver haired male and gently placed his hand on his shoulder, pushing down by just a bit as if to tell him to sit back down. It’s not like Sugawara had a choice; the room looked like it was spinning when he tried to stand up anyway.

“Stay put— I’ll go get you some water,” he started to walk out of the room, but he stopped at the door frame once more before turning around to speak to his hung over classmate. “Or you know, you can come over to the kitchen in a bit, if you want. I made breakfast, even if it’s kind of late for that.” He flashed a gentle smile at him then made his way to the kitchen. Just as Sugawara thought Sawamura was gone, he was greeted by him once again. Under these circumstances, he was peering through the door frame.

“I forgot to add, I can’t let you go out like that. You’re still in my clothes, Suga. Thought you would’ve noticed.”

 

* * *

 

After an entire ten minutes of trying to compose himself at with his given situation and piecing together the information he had, Sugawara finally embarked on a sort of mini-adventure to look for Sawamura’s kitchen.

It wasn’t that much of a struggle to find it; he just had to go out the hall and turn right and walk a bit before reaching the quaint little space. The massive headache he had, on the other hand, made things ten times more difficult to maneuver through the apartment. He nearly bumped into a lampshade and almost tripped over a few wires. Luckily, everything was still intact and nothing was broken.

“Daichi, I’m really sorry for causing you trouble.” his voice was quiet and embarrassed as he apologized. He tried to avoid eye contact and fiddled with his fingers.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I couldn’t have possibly left you there.” Sawamura had that gentle smile from earlier and it made Sugawara feel a bit better. Sugawara also noticed how the sides of his classmate’s eyes crinkled when he smiled like that; he found it really cute.

The silver haired male bit his lip before reaching out to get a slice of toast. He wrinkled his nose out of habit and looked at the brunet in the process. He felt so self-conscious; it was really weird, he thought, for someone he didn’t know that well to take care of him like this. Then again, he would have done the same thing if a similar event would have happened and Sawamura needed help.

The two of them ate breakfast—rather, brunch— in silence, spare the faint hum of a radio program in the living area. It seemed that the radio dj was talking giving additional information on the song’s about to play in a while. Shifting his weight from his right foot to his left, Sugawara found himself biting the inside of his cheek before speaking once more.

“Hey, uh, Daichi? Can I ask you something?”

Sawamura raised an eyebrow at the sudden query but he nodded in response.

“Be my guest.”

Sugawara ran his tongue over the top row of his teeth before managing to speak again. “How’d I end up like this?” he made additional gestures with his free hand that didn’t have the slice of toast, pointing to the clothes that he woke up in.

Gently setting his coffee mug down on the counter, Sawamura felt his cheeks start to grow warm—he prayed to the gods out there that Sugawara didn’t notice. Additionally, an embarrassed chuckle escaped his lips and this made the silver haired male a little concerned.

“Don’t worry, nothing of _that_ sort happened if that’s what you’re thinking.” he paused and it looked like he was trying to put together the right words to explain what happened earlier in the ungodly hours of the morning. “It’s just that—When you got here, you started taking off your polo and your jeans and I had to talk you into dressing into _something_ —And, er, you wouldn’t really stop tugging at my hoodie so I let you wear that for the night. I had to help you into some of my spare clothes too.” He popped his lips, feeling the tips of his ears burn. “If you’re worried about your clothes, I have them in the wash. They should be dry pretty soon.”

Warmth spread through Sugawara’s cheeks at the statement. Sawamura noticed a flash of pink across his classmate’s face and he spoke once more in attempts to calm him down.

“I won’t tell anyone about this, if you’re worried about that. This can be a secret between the two of us. I promise.” That soft, reassuring smile from earlier made a comeback and that was enough to make Sugawara’s heart flutter.

“Thanks, Daichi—I, uhm, appreciate it.” he scratched the side of his chin and returned the smile, albeit a little sheepishly. “I really do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i skipped out on what happened during the entire fiasco BUT i might include something about it in the future chapters so heh :~) (i might work on that chapter and post it much much later on, but we'll see.)


	4. aliens are a thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sugawara's side of things.
> 
> A few days after the incident, Oikawa couldn't help but ask Sugawara what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is, a little cute filler chapter about oikawa and suga's friendship !! as stated in the summary, this happens a few days after the previous chapter!
> 
> might post the one with daichi and kuroo later today !!

One step into his apartment, and Sugawara was greeted by an Oikawa Tooru sprawled over his sofa who seemed to be having fun watching a documentary on the possibility of the existence of alien life forms in outer space. A blanket was messily laid over his legs, and a few pillows were strewn over the floor. Heaving a sigh, the silver haired male made his way to where the other man was comfortable and set his bag down on a free spot on the sofa. 

“Haven’t you watched that for at least fifteen times?” He asked, examining the scene on the television. There was a panoramic shot of footage of nearby planets while the narrator was giving a brief background on Drake’s equation, which was used to calculate the possibility of extra-terrestrial life in space. Sighing once more, Sugawara took a seat on the arm of the sofa where Oikawa’s head was near.

“Sixteen if you want to be accurate, Kou-chan.” Oikawa said in an as a matter of fact kind of tone, complete with a wag of his index finger. Sugawara couldn’t help but laugh at that and nodded, acknowledging the information given to him. 

“Nice one, Tooru.” 

The two watched the documentary together, with the occasional gasp and comment from Oikawa. Although this happened quite often, Sugawara still managed to find himself surprised. Even with that, he still found it rather relaxing when his friend made a surprise visit.

When the credits finally started to roll much later, Oikawa focused his gaze on Sugawara as if it were perfectly scheduled. He crossed his arms for a dramatic effect. 

“Kou-chan, you haven’t told me anything yet!” 

Sugawara blinked and tried to process what this sudden statement was about. “Anything about what, exactly?”

The brunet laughed and proceeded to sit upright, tapping the space beside him for Sugawara to sit. The latter made his way to that spot, comfortably plopping himself down on the sofa. 

“You completely know what I’m talking about!” Oikawa childishly stuck his tongue out at his friend, hoping that it would get the message across. Unfortunately for him, it did not work at all since Sugawara simply raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh _god_ , Koushi. The more you play innocent, the more this will be excruciating for the both of us.” he chuckled, giving Sugawara a rather cheeky grin in the process. In response, Sugawara shrugged his shoulders and had a genuinely confused look on his face. Oikawa shook his head and relaxed his shoulders before giving away what he wanted to talk about. 

“Sawamura Daichi, who else would I be talking about?” At the moment Sugawara heard that name, he felt his mouth grow dry and his heart started to flutter. “I want you to tell me what happened between the two of you over the weekend.”

Laughing it off, Sugawara looked at his friend, hoping that nothing would be obvious from how his cheeks started to feel warm. He hoped to the heavens that the blush on his face wouldn’t be a dead giveaway. “Nothing happened, Tooru.”

“Really?” Oikawa asked in a sing-song voice, taking note of how fast his friend’s cheeks were turning pink. “He told me that you told him to pick him up during our party, you know~”

Sugawara clicked his tongue and heaved a sigh as he practically confessed to what happened. 

“Yeah, okay, I _may_ have ended up drunk texting him to pick me up thinking it was someone else but—”

“You sure drunk you wanted to text someone else and not Sawamura-kun?”

A somewhat tense silence spread across the room. Sugawara positioned his hands on his temples and started rubbing his fingers against them in small, circular motions before he spoke. His eyes were shut and his voice was soft. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I was going to text my ex,” he paused and shook his head at himself before continuing. “You know how drunk me can get with guys I used to date, right Tooru?” a stiff laugh escaped his lips.

Oikawa’s eyes widened and he realized how insensitive his comment was. _Oh Koushi—_ Gently, he draped his arm over Sugawara’s shoulders and nuzzled his head against the crook of his neck. Sounding genuinely apologetic, he lowered his voice to something near a whisper. 

“Sorry Koushi, I fucked up. I shouldn’t have pressed you like that.” 

“It’s fine, Tooru. I know you were curious and I guess you were a little excited? I assure you though, nothing happened between me and Daichi.”

He bit his lip after he said that name, realizing that he felt a little strange when the last syllable dragged out a little without much thought. _I don’t have a crush on Daichi, right? Probably not. He was just looking after me; it was the right thing to do. I would have taken care of him if he texted something like that to me too._

“He’s really nice though; he made breakfast for me once I was up and made sure that I got back here safely once my hangover was gone.” He paused for a moment, hesitating on whether or not he should continue. He did anyway. Oikawa would have pressed him for more details given his expression, but his voice was a bit softer when he spoke once again. “He, um, drove me all the way here.” 

Oikawa raised an eyebrow, obviously surprised at what he heard. 

“Oh wow, he’s a sweetheart; breakfast, even drove you all the way here! Even Iwa-chan wouldn’t do that for me, Koushi.” he laughed a little and loosely linked arms with Sugawara. The latter didn’t mind and even nuzzled against the crook of Oikawa’s neck. “Sawamura-kun’s a really thoughtful guy, huh?”

Sugawara nodded and a tiny smile made its way up to his lips. It didn’t escape Oikawa’s attention, but he chose not to comment on it.

“Have you talked to him since then?”

“Not really, no. I mean, it’s only been a few days since it’s happened. We don’t have class together until Wednesday since tomorrow’s a research day for that said class. Tuesday, we won’t have meetings for the classes we have together because of some faculty meeting our professors told us about.”

Oikawa nodded and his eyes brightened at the information he was just told. 

“You know, you should talk to him! Even if it’s small talk or whatever for class.” he flashed a grin at his friend, his voice supportive as he started on with his suggestion. “You’re on talking terms, I assume? Since you have his number and everything.”

“Ah, yeah, to an extent I guess?” Sugawara blinked slowly when he processed what Oikawa just asked him. “We work together for those classes.”

Oikawa ended up pinching Sugawara’s cheek in attempts to release his giddiness. The silver haired male ended up gently swatting his hand away while mouthing something like _don’t pinch my cheek, dummy._

“Perfect then!” he cooed, obviously pleased at this situation. “You can get closer to Sawamura-kun this way and you two can become friends.”

Sugawara ended up biting his lip at that; sure, it wouldn’t hurt to try and get closer to Sawamura, right? He clicked his tongue once, maybe twice, before Oikawa spoke yet again to break off that silence.

“You don’t have to do it though, Koushi. Think about it first! In the meantime, we can watch another episode of that thriller drama you kept telling me to continue last hell week.”

Sugawara’s eyes lit up at the suggestion and quickly nodded as he untangled his arm from his friend’s; Oikawa really knew what to say to make him feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they're cute af nerds (idk i thought they'd be a little touchy feely as friends but that's just me haha) 
> 
> also i love aliens as much as tooru does tbh


	5. it's about time, bro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sawamura's side of things.
> 
> Kuroo realizes something's up and manages to squeeze out information from Sawamura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops it's a little late, hello! (i'm trying to ward off writers block please help) 
> 
> kuroo and daichi are bros and this chapter was super fun to type c: it's a little long too!!

Five full minutes of rambling on the benefits of eating fish and its chemical compounds. That’s how long it took for Kuroo to realize that his friend wasn’t anywhere near to paying attention to the things he’s been saying.

“Daichi, hey, Daichi!” he waved a hand in front of Sawamura’s face, hoping to get at least a fraction of his attention. Thankfully, it worked—though that distracted aura was still very much present from the shorter male.

“Huh, Tetsurou?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, never better—” Sawamura rubbed at his eyes and absentmindedly smiled at his friend. His fingers were fiddling with the lockscreen of his phone.

Kuroo scoffed in disbelief at the blatant lie his friend just muttered. “Dude, you’re totally out of it. You normally pay attention when I talk about org chem—even if you don’t really understand much of what I’m saying.” He poked at Sawamura’s side in attempts to make him laugh or say anything else. The action didn’t work out too well.

“Care to tell me what’s on your mind?” A concerned look was on his face, but that smile on his lips was close to one of his signature shit eating smirks. Sawamura nearly flinched at the sight and waved a hand in front of his face.

“Don’t smile at me like that; makes me feel like you’re going to eat my non-existent children.”

“Fine, fine.” he laughed in response to that, which made his smile turned into something a little calmer. “And non-existent children? You’re like, the dad-est guy I know; from what I know, you have _at least_ five underclassmen that look up to you as a father figure.”

Sawamura ended up laughing with his friend and rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. “Okay, fine, I have children.” he heaved a sigh and unconsciously ended up fiddling with his lockscreen yet again. In the process, he adjusted his position on the floor, managing to rest his shoulder against the side of Kuroo’s bed in an attempt to calm himself down.

Kuroo nodded, quite proudly when his friend admitted to his father-like tendencies. He ran his fingers through his undeniably messy hair and adjusted himself on the bed, now with him a bit closer to his friend.

“So, what’s bothering you?”

Sawamura wrinkled his nose and stayed quiet for a while before speaking once more. “Promise not to laugh when I tell you?”

“Not unless it’s another story about trying to sneak in another pet into your apartment while under the influence of alcohol.”

“That was _one time—_ ”

“I kid, I kid.” he laughed as he recalled the memory and shook his head a few seconds later to try and get back on track. “Anyway, carry on. I won’t laugh or judge you. Or at least, I promise not to. As your friend, I worry about you and I want the best for you, but knowing me, I might end up laughing. Or reacting in some way you wouldn’t find too pleasing. We’ll see.”

Sawamura ended up feeling at ease with honesty and casualness that his friend displayed. Prodding his fingers on the mattress, he took a deep breath and tried to construct a possible way of saying his feelings without feeling embarrassed. Maybe straightforward was the best approach; no beating around the bush, just the raw basics.

“I think I like someone.”

With that one sentence, it made a huge weight disappear from his shoulders. However, he felt his face warm up and he hoped Kuroo wouldn’t comment on or joke about it. He was thankful he was sitting on the floor and not on his friend’s bed—less chances for the latter to see how embarrassingly pink his face was. Kuroo, however, obviously saw how Sawamura’s face went from tan to pink in a blink of an eye.

“Nice, you have feelings, Daichi!” Kuroo raised his fist up in the air, as a sort of victorious gesture. “It’s about time—”

“Fucker.” the word escaped Sawamura’s lips without thought as he instinctively gave Kuroo the finger.

“I feel so loved, Daichi.” Kuroo purred, pressing his hands against his face in a childish fashion.

“I’m not sure about that, bro.” Sawamura laughed and stood up from where he sat and proceeded to sit on Kuroo’s bed, his back leaning against the wall. Laughing along with his friend, Kuroo had quite a curious look on his face once he calmed down.

“Anyway, who is it?”

“You don’t just flat out ask me that!” Sawamura sounded scandalized at how blunt his friend was with this entire thing. Kuroo, on the other hand, shrugged in response.

“Well, I was bound to ask you sooner or later you know. At least with this out of the way, we can deal with your feelings faster.”

 _He does have a point._ “Whatever man, I’m not telling you.”

“Hmm, let me guess.” Kuroo tapped at his chin, faking an expression of being deep in thought. “Is it a classmate of ours?”

“We only have one class together Kuroo.” Daichi deadpanned.

“Yeah, and the fact that you said that means that this person you like is definitely in our economics class!”

Sawamura’s face turned into a noticeably darker shade of pink at that statement. _Dammit, Daichi, you should really learn how not to fall for Kuroo’s traps like that—_

“Additionally, there are around thirty people in that class! There’s a 1 in 28 chance I get this right on the first try.”

“I still don’t get why you’re taking econ.”

“Stop stalling, Daichi.” he ruffled Sawamura’s hair and ended up laughing. “But you do know it’s a core subject, I have to since school requires everyone to take it. Plus I think it’s a pre-requisite for one of my future classes.”

Habitually answering questions even if there was no need to. Typical Kuroo Tetsurou.

“Okay.” Kuroo clasped his hands together. “Is it Michimiya?”

Sawamura ended up scoffing at the first guess. Raising an eyebrow, he started to speak. “Dude, Yui’s a childhood friend and I don’t like her that way—she’s practically my sister. She’s also dating someone else right now. Pretty sure you would’ve noticed that dude she always hangs out with after class.”

“Mhm, it was a fair guess. 1 in 27 chance I get it right this time.” Kuroo said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Asshole, just guess so you can put me out of my misery.”

“Ohoho, so now you want me to get it right.” he smirked at Sawamura, who happened to be looking straight at him as he said that. Thoughtlessly, Sawamura stuck his tongue out at him and the latter ended up laughing once more.

“Sugawara Koushi, right?”

A tense sort of silence filled the gap between the two of them. Kuroo raised an eyebrow at Sawamura who looked like he just realized he had a deadline due the next day. After a considerable amount of time, Sawamura broke the silence.

“Am I that transparent?” he asked as he covered the lower half of his face with his left hand.

“Nah, but he’s definitely your type.” Kuroo had that shit eating smile again. _And I see you looking through those photos of him on your phone when you think I’m not paying attention._ “So, what seems to be the problem?”

“There’s no problem, really.” he paused, wrinkling his nose. “But I’m not sure about how to handle this entire situation I guess.”

Narrating what happened to his friend, things certainly developed into something interesting once the details were all laid out.

“He drunk texted you, called you babe in the process, told you to pick you up from that bar, and completely forgot what happened the next morning. Amazing.” he scoffed and made a mental note about where Sawamura managed to get those photos of Sugawara drunk in that bar.

“Dude, my advice is to talk to him. Don’t immediately go asking him about the drunk text, but you should try to get closer to him and everything. Once you’re close enough, you can probably bring it up and ask. Confess to him too, bro.”

Sawamura raised an eyebrow at the last thing that his friend said, obviously unsure of what to feel about it. “I’m not confessing to him that fast, Kuroo. Or you know, at all.”

“Well, I’m not saying that you should immediately tell him you like him, but you better confess to him in the future, alright? I’ve been friends with you since high school, Daichi. Trust me when I tell you to be open about your feelings.

“Anyway, some more advice I can give you is to weigh out your feelings first to see how much you like him. I dunno, for all you know, you might find yourself falling much deeper than you think.” he paused. “You didn’t even tell me how long you’ve had this crush on Sugawara, mhm?”

Sawamura stayed quiet and mumbled something in response, averting his gaze from his friend.

“A little louder, bro. Can’t hear ya.”

“Fine, fine. I only really acknowledged the crush somewhat recently. The entire drunk text situation last weekend me realize that I really _do_ like Suga, I guess.”

“This means to say you’ve at least found him attractive to an extent even before this mishap, right? I mean, you say that you only acknowledged the crush recently.”

The younger of the two didn’t say anything, but the way his cheeks were practically crimson red gave Kuroo his answer.

“I don’t blame you, bro. Sugawara’s definitely pretty. Probably one of the prettiest guys I’ve met.” he paused and looked at Sawamura, noticing how his eyes squinted with a bit of jealousy. “Not my type though.” he chuckled and gave a thumbs up at his friend. “Good luck with this bro! Can’t believe you’re growing up so fast—”

“Pfft,” Sawamura tried to suppress a laugh with the back of his knuckle, but it obviously didn’t work. “And you say _I’m_ the dad-est person you know.”

“Shut up, Dadchi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comments are much appreciated <3 
> 
> also !! if you guys have any suggestions, hmu!


	6. permission to speak, ma'am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class finally resumes and Sawamura and Sugawara are faced with the same problem-- they have to face each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took a while, I apologize !! I had to deal with trying to figure out what to put in future chapters (and i had pretty bad internet connection for the past few days.) Things are pretty okay rn though !!

Wednesdays were normally quiet in this 8 AM political science class. 8 AM was such an ungodly hour to properly and critically analyze different political issues in society and it obviously showed with how the students dealt with it. Some people would be sleeping the moment they set their stuff down and others would come in fifteen minutes late with a cup of coffee at hand. Sawamura was part of the former group—he would always come to class around fifteen minutes early, sit near the back and start napping. Sugawara, on the other hand, would be part of that one group of students who sat near the front, acting all bright and chipper this early in the morning. 

This apparent mess and lack of professionalism didn’t matter anyway since even the professor this 8 AM class was lenient in terms of behavior; she wasn’t much of a morning person to begin with. The atmosphere in the classroom would only become something a bit more academic in nature once the fifteen minute mark kicked in—ten on a good day—with everyone a bit more awake than when the class officially started. 

“Alright kiddos, I’m assuming you guys read the syllabus—” a few collective groans echoed in the room. The professor laughed it off and looked genuinely amused at her students. “Kids, I know your midterm season just ended and you guys are probably tired, but I was thinking you guys would at least check it for our schedule.” She tapped at her clicker and moved on to the next slide. “Since I’m feeling particularly nice, I’ll tell you. The second half of this meeting’s going to be delegated for a group discussion about the importance of the separation of powers in a democracy.”

A hand was raised and the professor raised an eyebrow. 

“If you’re wondering if the discussion can be open notes and open book, it always is. So go ahead, collate all your notes.” The student who previously had her arm raised slowly put it down and muttered a soft _nice_ to her seatmate. “I’ll just finish up these slides and you guys can go ahead and meet your group mates.” 

Group were already assigned beforehand; the professor thought it would give everyone a fair chance to be able to learn how to deal with others people and to adapt to different personalities. Sure enough, this was the perfect opportunity for Sawamura and Sugawara to talk since the whole drunk text incident last weekend.  
Once the professor finally finished with the lecture, she gestured for her class to move and meet with their respective groups. Noise started to accumulate in the room and a few strong voices and opinions were already coming out from some groups. Sawamura had to excuse himself past a rather opinionated group to be able to get to the middle of the classroom where his other group mates were. Shimizu was already ready with her color-coded notes, Azumane was tapping the desk with an orange pen, and Sugawara— sweet Sugawara—was sitting between the two of them, leafing through the pages of his notebook. Their gazes met when he sat down and nothing more than a nod of the head was exchanged. 

“Good morning,” Shimizu greeted as she closed her set her highlighter down and gave a nod of acknowledgement at Sawamura. 

“M-morning—” 

“Alright, as stated in that slide sensei has on the screen, we have to distinguish the differences of legislative, executive, and judiciary powers. Afterwards, we have to note how they work together in a checks and balances system.” 

Shimizu started to explain what she had from her notes in a cool, level headed tone. She was efficient with her words; she was concise and straight to the point. Not too long after, she was done speaking and gestured for Sugawara to go next. 

Sugawara started to speak but Shimizu noticed something was a little off with how he was acting. Normally, he would be looking at the group as he spoke; sometimes, he would get fixated at someone when he spoke but he wouldn’t realize it until much later. Currently, he had his eyes practically glued to his notes as if he were trying to avoid someone’s gaze. 

“Executive powers are granted to the president but this specific power isn’t the only one vested to him or her—” 

_He seems pretty okay though, maybe I’m just over thinking this. I shouldn’t pry._ She listened to him speak, nodding a few times to acknowledge what he was saying. After a while, he was finished with his part and he gestured for Azumane to speak. 

“Well, my opinion on the matter greatly relates to what Kiyoko-san and Suga-kun have previously stated—” He’s gotten quite comfortable with the group and he carried on with articulating his thoughts, albeit a few pauses where he had to rephrase some of his statements. 

In the middle of it all, Shimizu noticed how Sugawara stole glances at Sawamura who was sitting across from him. Those looks were hesitant and quick; Sugawara would immediately look in another direction when Sawamura would notice. _Did something happen between the two of them?_

Even with this little distraction on going, discussion still flowed smoothly. Well, that is until Sawamura started to speak. He still held the same posture and composure as he normally would, but he froze every time his eyes would meet with Sugawara’s. He’d mouth a small sorry at him for every moment it happened. Luckily, it didn’t happen that often. 

It didn’t escape Shimizu’s attention though. 

Not too long, the bell finally rang and they finally finished with their discussion along with everyone else. Students were already leaving the classroom and before Sugawara left, Shimizu tapped at his shoulder. 

“Sugawara-kun?” 

The silver haired male seemed to be rather surprised at this but he tried to hide his initial reaction with a friendly smile. 

“Yes, Kiyoko-san?”

“I’d just like to remind you that you and Sawamura-kun will be reporting on our group discussion next meeting, so I do hope you two are alright.”

He felt the tips of his ears grow warm when she mentioned Sawamura’s name and he nodded at her, hoping she wouldn’t notice him blushing. “Noted, Kiyoko-san.” he paused and wrinkled his nose. “W-We’re okay, I guess.”

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow and had that calculating expression on her face; a look she’d normally reserve when she would get worried about her peers. 

“Mhm.” 

Kiyoko noticed how Sugawara’s eyes had an air of worry to them so she decided not to push the issue further and thanked him once more. Before she slung her messenger bag over her shoulder, she looked at him again, this time a softer expression on her face. 

“Do me a favour and talk to him, alright Sugawara-kun?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're awkward af. Kiyoko knows what's up too :~) 
> 
> (i'm pretty positive everyone knows that daichi and suga have the hots for each other HAHA)
> 
> i'm sorry if it's a slow drag to when these two will finally make a move on each other but I assure you, it will happen very very soon. (cough next chapter coughs heh)


	7. please leave a message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Texting becomes a little bit more difficult (even if it's for something quite compulsory, thanks to academics.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay !! hello, sorry for that slight delay.
> 
> here's an update! also !! it's to commemorate the first month i had this up here!! huzzah. anyway, here's a bit more awkward daisuga ~

Shimizu’s words rang in Sugawara’s ears for the past few hours and it was currently distracting him from paying attention to his professor in his math class. _I’m guessing she noticed how self-conscious I was being—Then again, Daichi was also acting pretty weirdly earlier too? Or maybe I’m just over thinking this—_

“Kou-chan,” a hand was gently resting on his shoulder and that was enough to break him from this whirlwind of anxieties. He blinked a few times and looked up from his notebook to see Oikawa looking at him with a worried expression.

“Class is over, you know!” Oikawa paused and shook his head, as if retracting his statement. “Well, not really, but sensei gave us time to work on these problem sets. He told us we can leave already if we wanted to.” Oikawa handed Sugawara a sheet of A4 paper with a list of problem sets and examples that filled the front and back.

“What, everything?” the silver hair male blurted out, obviously overwhelmed by the amount of things he had to answer which was all probably due the next meeting.

“Nah, relax! Just the first page.” Sugawara sighed in relief. “Back page is for discussion for next meeting, so it’s optional.” Oikawa ended up squeezing Sugawara’s shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

“If anything’s bothering you—and it certainly looks like something’s bugging you—you can answer these later. You’re the smartest guy I know; you’ll answer these problems without a sweat. If you need any help with them, I’m just a text or call away, okay?”

Sugawara remained quiet but he nodded with his lips curled upward into a little smile.

 

* * *

 

**_Suga 1:34 PM_ **

_Daichi, do you want to meet up for that polsci assignment later? If you aren’t busy that is. I think it’d be nice to meet up so we can collate all the ideas and stuff that our group talked about earlier today._

_Also, Kiyoko-san reminded me that the two of us will be reporting for our group on Friday, so this would definitely help us out, I guess! Please reply as soon as you can! Thank you. :)_

It took a lot of effort to be able to type that message down on his phone. Of course, the source of his nervousness was from that incident the previous weekend. Drunk texting Sawamura? What the fuck was he thinking? (He obviously wasn’t.)

It was quite unnerving to see those drunk texts when he opened the message thread for the two of them—all those typos made him cringe and that thing where he kept calling him _babe_ of all things— but he swallowed his pride and managed to do the deed anyway.

It wasn’t like he was asking Sawamura out on a date—this meeting was something academic, it wasn’t anywhere _near_ romantic. If he were on a date, he certainly wouldn’t spend it talking about the different aspects and functions of the government.

He had to remind himself to stop looking at his phone every few seconds to see if there was a reply. It’s not as if Sawamura would be free when he was; he had no idea about this guy’s schedule except for the classes they were in together. For all he knew, Sawamura might be in the middle of class at that very moment.

Plus, he was in the library right now and every rustle his clothes made magically echoed throughout this area in the study hall. He had to stop if he didn’t want other students—or worse, librarians—hushing him because of his restlessness.

 _Ugh, Suga you idiot—_ he slid his phone back into his pocket and rubbed at his temples right after. _Maybe I should finally on the math problem set now?_ He reached for his bag, slowly and carefully unzipped it, and took out his clear folder with all his papers and pens. He set the folder down, got a few sheets of A4 paper, a black ink pen, and the paper with the problem set.

He started answering the problems one by one, making sure that he didn’t do anything careless with his solutions. Before he knew it, he was engrossed in answering the items; the numbers and equations on the paper soothed him. He was calm and it was as if he didn’t have anything to worry about anymore.

That is, until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

He froze and tried not to let panic flood through every single vessel in his body. So far it wasn’t working all too well, but it was enough to keep his hands steady when he got his phone. He tapped the necessary pass code, opened the message and tried his best to read it without making a complete fool of himself.

**_Daichi 2:36 PM_ **

_Sorry for the late reply, Suga! I had class and a consultation with my prof for a paper. Sure, that’s fine. Are you free right now? Or would you prefer to meet at a later time?_

Sugawara felt his face grow warm and his mouth grow dry at the text. _Don’t fucking tell me you developed a crush on this boy_ just _because he took care of you while you were out wasted— This is the most ridiculous thing ever, Sugawara Koushi. Get a hold of yourself!_ Biting the inside of his cheek, he started to type out a reply, praying to the gods that his fingers would keep still and that his phone wouldn’t slip out of his hands.

**_Suga 2:40 PM_ **

_I have class at 3 though. :(_   _I don’t mind meeting up for a bit but I’m not entirely sure we’ll be able to cover everything. There were a lot of provisions in the constitution that sensei discussed and we have to mention a few of those when we report, right? But if you’re okay with meeting again later, it’s fine!_

**_Daichi 2:46 PM_ **

_I don’t mind. Is it really okay for you though? There’s only around 15 minutes until next period so I don’t think it’ll be wise to meet up right now since you have class. Don’t be late!! >:O_

_I have class at 4 PM though. Would it be okay if we met up at around 5? If we finish late (since that lesson was pretty technical lol) we can have dinner together if you want!_

He wasn’t sure if it was excitement, panic, or surprise he felt when his heart forcefully pound against his rib cage due to the text he just received. Sure, he thought that the last few texts were enough to make him throw his phone across the study hall, but this one? This one was enough to make him scream and melt right there on the spot. Sugawara was lucky that he didn’t drop his phone when he reread the text again and again.

  _Dinner? Holy fucking shit, is he serious. Is Daichi Sawamura asking me out for dinner? What the fuck. Was that an emoticon he just used? What the fuck! That’s cute—N-no, it’s not cute? Just… Unexpected?_ He tried his best not to lose his shit there in the library and tried to rationalize the situation while taking deep, quiet breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.

It seemed like forever when he finally managed to type out a reply.

**_Suga 2:53 PM_ **

_Sure thing, I don’t mind! Dinner sounds great. Where should we meet? I’m okay with going where it’s convenient for you since you’ll be coming from class after all._

**_Daichi 2:57 PM_ **

_We can meet by the fountain near the physics dept since my class would be around that area. Let’s talk about dinner after we finish the assignment HAHA work before food!!_

**_Suga 3:00 PM_ **

_Alright, I have no problems with that! True, let’s finish everything first before deciding on where to eat later. See you later, Daichi!_

**_Daichi 3:04 PM_ **

_See you, Suga! :D_

Sure, Sugawara might have been a few minutes late to his psychology class seeing as he was hurriedly walking to his classroom—which was thankfully by the ground floor of a nearby building—but things were okay. They were definitely better than okay. His heart still felt like it was stuck in his throat, his breath was undeniably shaky, and his cheeks were a bright shade of pink but a huge smile was painted across his face.

Maybe the rest of the day was going to make up for everything else earlier— the awkwardness, the tension, and the missed opportunities to talk to one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it ended like that HAHA 
> 
> i promise, i'll do my best to post the update a little sooner. mwah, mwah. thanks for the kudos, friends !! 
> 
> (also i made them text all formal and stuff since they aren't that close yet! well, despite the entire drunk text thing, i think texting like that would be apt.)


	8. readings before feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Work, then dinner afterwards.
> 
> Sugawara notices a bit more things about Sawamura and ends up flustered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry i took forever, i had to fix stuff for uni (enlistment just finished earlier today and i'm so stressed.) irreg updates from now on once again since the semester's going to start in a week. :~(
> 
> cute daisuga to make up for it, maybe?

Work had gone by rather fast, although two hours—two and a half to be precise—was something that wasn’t exactly to be called something short. The two students didn’t even realize how much time had already gone by until Sugawara checked his phone due to the school bell that just rang a little while ago.

“Fuck—” the word escaped his lip without much notice. He rubbed at his eye and rolled his shoulders back in a few circular motions. “I didn’t even realize it was dinner time already.”

Sawamura stared at the silver haired male and raised an eyebrow, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.

“… This is an early dinner for me then. It’s only around seven thirty, right?” he asked as he checked his wristwatch; it blinked a few times with the numbers 7:36 flashing on the screen.

Sugawara nodded and ended up pouting at the brunet’s statement. “You should eat at around this time, you know. It’s not healthy if you eat dinner late or don’t eat at all.”

“I know, I know. Kuroo reminds me all the time to eat dinner, but work is killer, you feel? All these core subjects with so many requirements— it’s almost as if _they’re_ my majors!”

“Mhm, I feel.” Sugawara ended up laughing at how animated his classmate had gotten with all the hand gestures and facial expressions he managed to show in a span of a few seconds. “If you don’t mind me asking, are you talking about Kuroo, our econ classmate?”

“Yeah, he’s a high school friend. He drops by my apartment a lot to bring me food when I get too concentrated on finishing my requirements. Kinda funny since you might think that I’d be the one doing that shit for him.”

The image of their classmate with perpetual bed hair came to mind. A moment of silence had gone past, dark brown eyes met with honey coloured ones, and both of them ended up laughing rather shamelessly.

At that very moment, Sugawara felt his heart flutter like it did when Sawamura smiled at him when he was hungover. Sawamura’s laugh sounded so warm, so relaxing, and so inviting. He wanted to hear it again, oh god, it sounded so angelic— _Fuck, Suga no, stop—_

He didn’t realize he ended up staring at Sawamura who happened to notice that fixed gaze at him.

“Mhm, you okay, Suga?”  His lips were curled softly into a smile, his eyes hinted with a bit of worry.

“Ah!” Sugawara felt his cheeks start to grow warm when he realized what he was doing. It _definitely_ took a while before he managed to get a hold of his tongue again. “Yeah, I am, sorry! I didn’t mean to stare like that—I-I mean! Er, let’s eat dinner? Have any places in mind?”

It was Sawamura’s turn to stare at his silver haired classmate. He didn’t mean to, it was just that he found it so endearing on how _awkward_ Sugawara was acting. Though he didn’t want to admit it, he found it attractive to see this flustered side of him. Luckily, he managed to catch his words long before another silence clouded the atmosphere.

“Well, if you’re up for it, there’s this place near the university I love going to when I want to eat a proper dinner. I’ll drive us there.”

“Lead the way then!”

Sugawara felt his face grow a little less warm at the prospect of dinner—he thanked his rumbling stomach for the distraction— and he couldn’t help but punch Sawamura’s shoulder gently as he commented yet again on a reminder to eat a proper dinner when he could.

 

* * *

 

“I’ve never actually noticed this place before…” Sugawara commented as he examined the interior of the quaint restaurant Sawamura brought him to. The restaurant actually didn’t have any noticeable signs pointing towards it, except for a cute little blackboard that was decorated with flowers and succulents and said _WELCOME!_ near the entrance. One would think it was a flower shop at first glance until they’d take a closer look.  

“Not surprising; I only actually found out about this place during one of the org meetings I had during the second semester of freshman year. It escapes your eye, mhm?”

Sugawara nodded and followed Sawamura to a window side table, near the corner. The two sat across one another and it took a while for them to get settled and comfortable. There was yet another silence between the two of them and Sugawara thought he was going to die of embarrassment since he had absolutely no idea on what to talk about. As if on cue, Sawamura came to the rescue with that undeniably handsome smile of his. It was enough to make the silver haired male blush all the way to the tips of his ears.

 “Anyway, food here’s pretty affordable for home cooked meals! Though I haven’t gotten the chance to go here in a while since hell week just ended recently…”

As Sawamura trailed off, Sugawara covered his mouth to hide the fact that he was laughing at how childlike his classmate looked. After a while, the brunet realized he forgot something important.

“I forgot about it earlier, so I’ll go get us a menu, okay? Please excuse me, Suga.”

The brunet stood up and went to the counter, getting two menus from there. He took a while there since he even made small talk with the cashier who wasn’t doing much at the time; there was a little roughhousing between the two of them but it was all playful and friendly.

As he waited for his classmate to come back to their table, Sugawara couldn’t help but notice how broad Sawamura’s shoulders were, how his shirt fit so snugly against his torso and accentuated his forearms— _Damn, it looks like it was made for him—_ , how those dark jeans hung low on his hips, hugged his ass quite nicely, and fit somewhat tightly against those thighs—those _godly_ thighs—

Sugawara closed his eyes and pinched himself on the wrist. _Damn, it Koushi! What the fuck—Don’t check him out!! Were you just_ fantasizing _about his_ thighs _?!_

In the middle of lightly tapping at his cheeks and having an internal monologue about how he _shouldn’t_ have noticed those (amazing) thighs, Sawamura came back with a menu at hand. He didn’t notice until that voice filled his ears.

“You okay?”  

Sugawara gulped and tried to compose himself, mindlessly biting at his lip out of habit. “Second time you asked me that tonight, haha.” he managed to smile meekly at him. “I’m okay. I guess I just felt a little sleepy.”

Sawamura gulped at how oddly seductive that lip bite looked, same with those sleepy looking eyes. He felt his mouth grow dry and he tried to hide the fact by clearing his throat, and covering his mouth behind the back of his hand.

“Alright, just making sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly just kiss already lmao
> 
> also i rly like plants hence the restaurant theme HAHA i want to go to one like that soon.


	9. Lonely Highways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The car ride home brings about a turn of events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i didn't forget about this fic i'm back !! thesis and all my majors this sem are slowing down my progress, but i'm trying my best. fun story, i actually lost the main, most updated file of this fic the other week HAHA. i tried my best to retrieve stuff, so yes. i'm glad this chapter is intact though. 
> 
> i think you guys might enjoy this chapter, maybe xoxo

Dinner lasted a bit longer than the two originally intended, with all the stories that they managed to tell each other. Sugawara was surprised to find out that place served mapo tofu—it definitely didn’t look like it—and he certainly wasn’t disappointed when he tried it. Sawamura ordered a beef bowl since his favorite ramen dish was unavailable that evening. Still, the dish certainly met his standards and he was very much satisfied.

They split the bill and were about to say their goodbyes as they made their way out of the restaurant. Sugawara was fine with walking back to his apartment despite it being ways off, but Sawamura insisted on driving him all the way there. He couldn’t say no— actually, he couldn’t find it in him to speak after how he insisted, so he could only nod in response.

Throughout the car ride, Sugawara found out that Sawamura’s driving playlist consisted of various types of EDM sounding genres— _he called one of them vaporwave? Another as glitch hop?_ _Or was that future funk…?_ They also talked about how they thought of their political science professor and how their general impressions of her were like. Both of them shared the impression that she was intimidating at first, but after a few memes and all the nicknames she managed to give to all of their classmates, she was more of a cool upperclassman to them now.

With them exchanging anecdotes and talking about different parts of their workloads, time certainly flew by. Before they knew it, they reached the street where Sugawara lived.

Sawamura luckily managed to find a free parking space in front of the building and Sugawara found himself surprised at this development. There was almost always no parking slot available in front of his apartment complex, so thought it was something short of a miracle. It felt like a scene in those romance movies he’d watch in occasion with Oikawa. Perfect timing and everything for two people in a car to kiss. _Ah, no no no. Stop that, Koushi!_

“Wait, Daichi—” he tried to asses the situation while doing his best to keep himself from freaking out yet again. “Don’t tell me you’re going to walk me all the way to my unit?”

“Well, why wouldn’t I?” Sawamura raised an eyebrow, a small smirk resting on his lips. “I’m already parked here after all and I’m not really in a rush to get home.”

Sugawara laughed at how smooth that sounded and mouthed out a _fine_ and slung his bag over his shoulder. He felt around in his pockets and realized he was missing something.

“Ah, wait—did I put my phone there?” he leaned over and checked the different compartments in Sawamura’s car. Sawamura joined in and tried looking for it as well; they happened to look at the same spot near the passenger’s seat and they didn’t realize that their faces were a few inches apart.

Their gazes were locked and neither of them could speak.

“Daichi?”

“Suga—”

Unconsciously, the space between them eventually became non-existent. Sawamura noticed the other little almost unnoticeable beauty marks Sugawara had on his cheeks, while Sugawara noticed how deep that shade of brown Sawamura’s eyes were—he would gladly drown in those eyes forever.

They were so close; they felt their breath ghosting on each other’s lips—

Until the default iPhone call alert tone rang throughout the space of the car.

Sugawara was the first to pull back, hitting the back of his head against the passenger side window. A few curse works escaped his lips as he rubbed at the affected area with gently circles. Once he managed to alleviate the pain even for just a small amount, he quickly reached for his phone that mocked him with that irritating ring tone.

Sure, he managed to find where he placed his phone in that car—it was near the dashboard— but it was probably at the worst moment possible. He mouthed a soft _sorry_ at Sawamura before looking at the name that flashed on the screen. Without much thought he hissed at the name then took the call.

“Tooru, you’re an asshole. Call you later, I’m almost home.”

He quickly dropped the call before he could hear any whines from the other line and managed to face Sawamura once more. Unsure on what to do, he tried his best not to freak out even more and was lucky that his lips managed to curl up into an awkward yet apologetic smile. His cheeks were dusted with a noticeable shade of pink and Sawamura noticed this even if it was relatively dark inside the car.

“I’m really sorry about that. Really, Daichi. I’m _so_ sorry—”

Sawamura scratched the back of his neck and an awkward chuckle escaped his lips. Needless to say, his cheeks were also quite pink; he was blushing even all the way up to his neck and his ears.

“It’s fine, things like that happen. No need to be sorry,” sunshine still managed to radiate from his smile. “Anyway, let’s go? Let me walk you to your unit.”

Sugawara’s eyes widened and felt his jaw drop slightly. “You still want to walk me even with that thing that just happened?”

“Why not? Like I said earlier, I’m in no rush to get home tonight.”

After a few seconds of staring at each other and exchanging looks of disbelief and lip biting, the two of them got out of the car, a considerably awkward air between the two of them. They walked alongside each other, a bit of a distance between the two of them. Even if the atmosphere wasn’t like how it normally was, it felt okay. It didn’t feel strained. It didn’t feel like someone needed to speak up to get rid of the space.

Quite some time passed before they reached Sugawara’s unit and they exchanged their goodbyes.

“Alright, good night Suga. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow Daichi. Good night.”

Sugawara closed the door after one last wave at his classmate and once he managed to lock it, he rested his back against it and heaved a lengthy sigh.

He didn’t want to admit it, but that was one of the best evenings he had in a while; a lot better than when he’d get wasted after exam—though the last one didn’t end out so well. He knew his dreams were going to be about that warm smile, that angelic laugh, that almost kiss, and everything else about that perfect human being.

 _Fuck Daichi, really_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title's from this solid track to be found here: https://soundcloud.com/android-apartment/1-lonely-highways i love their music huhu (they might have been listening to that on the ride home?) 
> 
> and idk, i thought daichi would be the type to have an unexpected music taste. also, yes, cliche thing but it's going to get better ok i promise !! hehe :')


	10. how do you deal with feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "asking for a friend, you know?"
> 
> "you're the friend, aren't you, Suga-kun?"
> 
> Essentially, Oikawa Tooru being a nice friend and Sugawara Koushi being a cheeky little shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rAISES LEG
> 
> It has been more than a month since my last update, I sincerely apologize for the delay! My majors are tiring af and thesis is so heavy. I also decided to update this at like 8:30 AM here in the Philippines, which is honestly an odd time for updates because everyone else is probably at school haha. 
> 
> Here's a little chapter I decided to work on last night.

Sugawara really wanted to bring up the kiss to Sawamura. After all, they’ve still been texting each other for days after the incident, as if the entire thing didn’t happen at all.

He wasn’t going to deny that it was all he could think about for the past week. The image of Sawamura’s flushed face, how Sawamura’s lips curled into a lopsided smile, how Sawamura’s lips were so close to his own—

 “Kou-chan!” Oikawa chirped, breaking Sugawara from his reverie. The silver haired male nearly dropped his phone in surprise and recovered by simply flashing a tired looking smile at his pretty faced best friend.

“Hey, Tooru.” Sugawara’s greeting came out a little less lively than he intended. Oikawa simply chuckled at this and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“Thought I’d find you here,” Oikawa poked at Sugawara’s cheek, which resulted in a raised eyebrow from the silver haired male.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t go here to this café unless you’re thinking about stuff.” he played around with the spoon in Sugawara’s cup of coffee with his free hand, stirring it around. He stayed quiet for a while and surveyed the area, which was full of other university students studying or catching up with friends. “Plus, you didn’t text. You usually do, you know?”

Sugawara heaved a sigh, gently pushing Oikawa’s arm off his shoulders. That tired smile made its way back up to his lips. “I don’t have to text you every time though, Tooru.”

“I know,” he paused and carefully chose his words. “I just felt like something was bothering you. Kind of like a sixth sense, you know?”

A look of surprise painted the silver haired male’s face and before he knew it, a soft chuckle escaped his lips.

“There’s no escaping it, huh?”

Oikawa gently patted Sugawara on the shoulder, rubbing it from time to time. In the process, he smiled at his friend in a reassuring manner; it was genuine and it wasn’t the type of smile he’d flash to just _anyone_.

“I know you can do it, Kou-chan. Is this about Thighchi-kun?

“… Did you just call Daichi _Thighchi_?” Sugawara scoffed in disbelief; thankfully he wasn’t drinking his coffee or else he’d probably spit it out in surprise. The nickname was, thankfully, still processing in his head. If he got it right off the bat, his face would have been around twenty shades of red right about now.

“What?” Oikawa had the most innocent look on his face. “You _know_ I was going to give him a nickname sooner or later.”

 “I know _that_ but I can’t believe you checked out his _thighs_ , Tooru.”

“Hey now! Don’t tell me that you haven’t checked them out too, Kou-chan. Sawamura-kun has very nice thighs.” he said, in a tone that was more of one that sounded like _as a matter of fact_ instead of a teasing one.

The statement made the silver haired male blush. It was true though, Sawamura had a nice set of thighs and he wasn’t going to deny that. He just hoped that he wouldn’t slip up the next time he talked to or saw the brunet. What else would be more embarrassing than calling the object of his affections as Sawamura Thighchi?

“Silence is usually a form of a yes, right? I’m assuming Kou-chan definitely checked Thighchi-kun out.” Oikawa had that cheeky, teasing grin painted across his lips once more. “Anyway, what’s up? It’s been a while since you’ve been troubled about things that didn’t involve lab work or microbiology lessons. I mean, I’d help you with the latter but botany and zoology are more of my thing.”

Sugawara ended up looking into his now lukewarm cup of coffee and brought it close to his lips. Taking a sip, he tried to arrange his thoughts in a way that didn’t sound too blunt or too vague. A few moments later, he set the cup down again and looked at his friend.

“What do you do if you like someone a lot?”

“Make them feel like they’re important to me, of course! I mean, just look at me and Iwa-chan!”

“I’m not sure that’s the best example, Tooru.”

“Hey now! Kou-chan, you’re such a meanie!” The brunet pouted. “Iwa-chan definitely thinks I do a good job at being his boyfriend. I can even text him right now for proof!”

Before Sugawara could make a comment that texting Iwaizumi was unnecessary, Oikawa already whipped his phone out and started tapping out a message.

**Tooru 11:41 AM**

_Iwa-chan!! Iwa-chan, I’m a good boyfriend, right? ヽ( >∀<☆)ノ_

“You really didn’t need to do that, you know. I know Iwaizumi-kun—” almost immediately, a message alert ring tone filled the air, cutting him off and preventing him from finishing his sentence.

**Iwaizumi 11:42 AM**

_Tf, Shittykawa. I’m working on paper. Text you later._

Of course, this resulted into a rather speechless Oikawa and a Sugawara who couldn’t control his laughter. Wiping a tear that formed at the corner of his eye, Sugawara seemed to have toned down his laughter some time later.

“Don’t worry, Tooru.” he took a took a deep breath to finally compose himself. “That’s how Iwaizumi-kun is with you, right?”

“Meanie Kou-chan.” Oikawa pocketed his phone and wrinkled his nose. “That’s how Iwa-chan shows his love for me. He’s just cranky all the time but I know he loves me.”

Sugawara couldn’t help but smile at how childish Oikawa was acting but he couldn’t find the words to say. Normally, he’d have a sort of comeback for that to tease his friend with but now, it felt as if his mouth and mind were out of sync.

“Anyway, yeah.” Oikawa seemed to notice the tiredness that showed in the crinkles of the corners of Sugawara’s mouth, as well as how it pooled in those honey coloured eyes. He smiled softly at his friend, hoping that at _least_ a small amount of sunshine would make him feel a bit better. “You should show him how much he matters to you. Communicate effectively, Kou-chan! Sometimes actions don’t always speak louder than words, especially if this person might be dense!”

Sugawara raised an eyebrow at the dense part and couldn’t help the snarky comment that escaped his lips. “So, just like you and Iwaizumi-kun?”

“Precisely—H-hey!” Oikawa crossed his arms and furrowed his brows, upon the realization of what his friend was saying. “Kou-chan, you’re so mean! You’re teasing me for being dense.”

“Well, you _were_ really dense.” he rolled his eyes to further emphasize his claim. “Iwaizumi had to tell you straight to your face that he liked you, even if you two were practically dating without the label.”

“Oh god,” A shade of pink dusted Oikawa’s cheeks. Without much thought, he stuck his tongue out at Sugawara. “Like you’re the one to talk. That’s how you and Thighchi-kun are right now, you know~”

Sugawara felt his face grow warm, positive that it was probably ten shades of red at the moment. _Is that really true…?_ He thought, biting his lip as a habit to cope with his uncertainty and anxiety about the entire situation.

“Hey, Koushi.” Oikawa recognized that look in his friend’s eyes and placed his hand on top of the silver male’s hand. He rubbed his thumb over his knuckles and had a soft, reassure smile on his lips.

“Things will be alright, okay? Trust me! Talk to him like you normally do and if you want to bring up anything, do it. It’s not a wise idea to keep it all bottled up! And you know, it’s also bad to deny your feelings.”

“It’s kind of funny, hearing this from you,” Sugawara felt a bit relieved at the feeling of Oikawa’s hand pressed against his. “You know since you’re one solid contender for the King of Bottled Up Feelings.”  

Though his eyes looked tired—with those eye bags emphasizing his worry—he still found a bit of energy to be able to flash one of those signature, innocent looking expressions that he was very well known for in their block. Oikawa simply shook his head at this, a chuckle escaping his lips.

“Kou-chan, even if you’re being such a cheeky little shit right now, I still love you.”

“Huh, so I’m the little shit now, eh Tooru?”

Oikawa shot a look of disbelief at Sugawara, his eyes squinted and his mouth slightly ajar. Such a comment wouldn’t normally spill out of those lips. Then again, Sugawara’s circumstances were a little rough, so the only thing he could do as his best friend was support and gently push him towards the direction of action.

“You’re going to get the man, I swear! Believe me. You’re Sugawara Koushi, the bravest, most courageous guy I know. I’m _positive_ you’ll be able to figure out all your feelings for this guy and, who knows? You two might become a thing!”

Sugawara knew that beneath that chipper tone was an actual, genuine Oikawa who wanted the best for him. Those words weren’t half-meant; he knew that because of how kind and gentle Oikawa’s eyes were at that moment. Sure, Oikawa could be a pain in the ass more than half the time, but he was still a pillar of support he could count on, no matter the situation.

Opening his mouth to reply, Sugawara felt a significant weight lifted off his shoulders.

“…Thanks, Tooru.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, so Sugawara finally accepts the fact that he likes Thighchi Sawamura, good on you!! 
> 
> Anyway, I'm really sorry if I keep stretching this out. I didn't even realize it's been 10 entire chapters!! wow.
> 
> Reviews, kudos, and bookmarks are all very much appreciated! mwah i love you


	11. bros help their bros out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "trust me, daichi"
> 
> "fuck off, tetsurou"
> 
> essentially, kuroo trying to talk sense into his best friend, sawamura, because he is being a dense fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, back after a week to update this since midterms are fast approaching and i obviously chose this before my anthropology readings :') 
> 
> have fun reading stuff about kuroo and daichi being bros

“Bro, I’m not one to intrude,” Kuroo started as he closed his biochemistry book and shifted his attention to the brunet on the other end of the sofa. “But did anything happen to you? You’ve been smiling non-stop at your phone.” he squinted as he stared at the phone that was tucked in said brunet’s hands. “It’s weird, since you _never_ have your phone with you for that long.”

“Psh, shut up Tetsurou.” Sawamura said as he rolled his eyes and continued typing a reply on said phone. 

Kuroo laughed at Sawamura’s defensiveness and scooted beside him, completely ignoring the rerun of one of the Detective Conan movies on television. “Hey, let good ol’ Kuroo have a look—”

“You sound like a pervy old man, no thanks.” Sawamura tried pocketing his phone, but Kuroo’s hands were faster than his own. He hissed at his friend and tried to retrieve his phone from those pesky hands but to no avail.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Kuroo’s eyes widened as he saw the message notification on the screen. That shit eating grin made its way up to his lips and all he could do was knowingly look at Sawamura.

“Oh god, you sound just like Bokuto.” Sawamura rubbed at his temples and tried reaching out for his phone after, which was strategically held up above his head via his friend’s arm. No matter the shifting, stretching, and reaching out he made, he _still_ couldn’t get a hold of his phone.

“… Well, Bokuto and I hang out a lot more than we do because of our scheds so I happened to pick up that speaking quirk of his.” Kuroo stuck his tongue out at Sawamura, his outstretched arm still very much in the air. “And I’m not giving your phone back until you give me deets, bro.”

Sawamura clicked his tongue and still attempted to get his phone back from his tall, catlike friend. It was useless. Well, unless he kicked him in the shin or elbowed him in the gut, but he promised himself that he would save that for other, more important and life threatening situations.

Though he wasn’t going to lie, this situation was pretty close.

He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose before finally caving in.

 “Suga and I are talking a lot more than I expected since the drunk text thing? Last week, we ate dinner after working on an assignment together? I drove him back home after?” His felt a tingling sensation crawl all the way up to the back of his neck but he continued anyway.

“We nearly kissed in my car? I think he looks like an angel? His laugh is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard? I don’t know,” he winkled his nose and scrunched his eyebrows. “What else do you want me to say?”

Kuroo had a proud smile on his face when he heard that confession from Sawamura. Admittedly, he saw all of this coming and he honestly found it entertaining on how his friend sounded like he was going through feelings for his first high school crush all over again.  

“You’re so in love with him, Daichi. It’s the cutest thing—”

Before he could say anything more, he paused. “Wait. Backtrack.”

He stared at Sawamura with wide eyes, much like a cat who saw something he wasn’t supposed to see.

“You nearly _kissed_? Holy shit!” He covered his mouth with his free hand to hide his surprise. “That’s the most cliché thing I’ve ever heard, almost kissing in your car—”

Sawamura squinted at Kuroo, pretending not to have heard everything after _it’s the cutest thing._ “Never in our entire five years of friendship would I ever hear you call anything I do as cute.”

“Don’t ruin the moment, Daichi. I’m expressing my happiness!” he pocketed Sawamura’s phone with a lazy, lopsided smirk. “But damn, that sounded like something out of those shoujo mangas, you know? And to be fair, it really _is_ cute. You’re _so_ in love.”

“Shut up.” Sawamura swore that his face was probably ten shades of red right about now. “Suga and I aren’t dating, you know.”

“Not _yet._ ” he purred. “Ask him out so you can make it official!”

“I don’t even know if he’d be okay with that--”

“Daichi.” Kuroo stared at Sawamura straight in the eye, completely serious. “You and Suga nearly kissed in your car because it felt like something in the moment right?”

As much as it pained him to agree, Sawamura could only nod in embarrassment. He couldn’t deny what Kuroo said because it was perfectly true.

“See, if he didn’t chicken out that means he got the hots for you too.” he nudged at Sawamura’s side. Sawamura couldn’t help but sigh at this.

“Sure, I should take advice from Mr. I-can’t-even-make-a-move-on-my-crush-without-embarrassing-myself. Perfect.”

“Daichi, I’m offended; wounded even.” he dramatically placed a hand on his chest, feigning a look of disappointment.

“Fuck off, Tetsurou. It’s my revenge for all of this.”

“Hey, you’re in a much better position to get a relationship than I am so you’re the real winner here.” Sawamura stuck his tongue out at him and he couldn’t help but laugh yet again. “Anyway, you said you nearly kissed in your car right? What happened?”

Sawamura made a sour face. It’s roughly been a week since that happened, but that iPhone ring tone would haunt him until the day he died. He cursed the day that ring tone was created. “Oikawa called him on his phone when we were about to kiss.”

Kuroo couldn’t help but snort. He tried his best to suppress his laughter. Really, he _did_ try his best. Unfortunately, his laughter escaped his lips far faster than he could manage to hold back. With a deep exhale, alongside an audible _phew_ , he managed to quiet down, at least enough to be able to sympathize with his friend.

“I’m sorry about that, bro.”

“You wouldn’t be laughing it happened to you, you know.” Sawamura spat, obviously pissed off. He thought of those soft lips and how _close_ he was to kissing them. _So fucking close_. 

“I know, I know.” Kuroo finally calmed down and reassessed the situation that was presented to him. “What a dick move though. Oikawa’s that guy from your philosophy class, right?”

“Mm, yeah.” Sawamura paused and looked at Kuroo, quite surprised. “Wait, how’d you know him? And can you _please_ give me my phone back?”

“You mentioned him a few times. And I see him with Iwaizumi after accounting on Wednesdays and Fridays. Kinda hard to miss, really.” He took Sawamura’s phone out of his pocket and handed it to the younger male. “Here. Kept it safe and warm for you.”

Sawamura made a rather disgusted face at his friend before happily taking his precious phone back. After a short internal monologue about whether or not he should wipe his phone screen on his sweatpants (he chose not to), he entered passcode and checked his notifications.

“Oh, by the way Daichi—”

“Yeah?” Sawamura was caught having a smitten smile on his lips, as he replied, not bothering to look up and had his eyes fixated on the message on his phone screen.

“That text you just got? Sounds like you to are up to something nasty, eh?”

Sawamura’s eyes immediately darted towards Kuroo’s general direction and widened at the accusation. Without wasting even the merest of seconds, he threw the nearest sofa cushion straight at Kuroo’s pretty face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so you guys probably noticed how i like shifting it from oisuga to kurodai like this haha. i find it easier and better to be able to show the sides of the story like this!!
> 
> also, i have a surprise the next time i update :') 
> 
> as always, kudos, comments, and bookmarks are much appreciated !! love love love


	12. the cost of something is what we give up to get it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Texting in class is one thing, writing little notes on scratch papers is another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's midterms week and ya girl ian decided to update this before the storm starts hehe (no worries though, i just did a bit of editing for this one.)
> 
> enjoy this awkward, sort of flirty little chapter.

Seating arrangements for this economics class were non-existent. Even if it did prove as something rather frustrating for the professor at hand, it was a good taste of freedom for the students. It was rather chaotic at times, but everything would eventually settle into equilibrium sooner much more than later. 

Kuroo would sit in the middle with Sawamura, and Sugawara would sit somewhere near the front. The set up would be subject to change, depending on the situation but often times, it would be as is. This time though, the sly bed head had something else in mind.

“Hey, Suga! Do you mind if we switched seats today? Didn’t realize I couldn’t see much from where I sit.” Kuroo purred as he rested his hands on the table in front of his silver haired classmate. His voice was very much polite, though the look in his eyes said otherwise.

Sugawara felt those dark eyes fixated on him and he couldn’t help but sigh. Looking up from the book he was reading, he flashed an apologetic smile at his classmate.

“Kuroo-san. Half the semester already went by and you only realize this kind of matter now?”

The raven haired teen laughed and nodded, trying his best to keep his cover. _Hah,_ he thought. _Worth a shot anyway._

“Just for today, please?”

Sugawara raised an eyebrow and was about to tell him a firm no. However, before he was able to do so, Kuroo spoke once more with his voice a little lower and hushed than earlier.

“You know, Daichi would totally appreciate it. Think about it.”

Sugawara stared at his classmate and felt himself tense up a bit at the sound of that name.  Biting the inside of his cheek, he revaluated his stance. Sure, he certainly still had his doubts about this entire situation but he tried his best to neatly store them away at the back of his mind.

 “Mn, fine,” His answer was hesitant, and he avoided direct eye contact with Kuroo. His face started to grow warm and he hoped that it didn’t manifest in an obvious blush. “Just for today, okay?”

“All I need.”

“You’re lucky sensei doesn’t bother with a seat plan…”

 “Yeah,” Kuroo laughed at that and winked at his silver haired classmate. “I wouldn’t have asked you if he _did_ bother with one, you know.”

He proceeded to go back to his original seat and hoped that Sawamura still wasn’t there. He knew his friend was never a morning person and would normally come in around five minutes before the time so he had _some_ reassurance that this plan would follow through. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he made his way to the front rows once more.

Sugawara certainly took his time fixing his things, unable to believe that he gave in to this arrangement so easily. With a deep breath, he zipped up his messenger bag and tried not to think about all the possible things that could happen for the next hour and a half. As he stood up, he was met with those sleepy looking eyes and a mess of raven hair.

“Thanks, Suga.” he glanced at the empty seat to the silver haired male’s right. “Don’t worry about Yakkun. I’ll take care of that.”

Sugawara blinked in confusion and nodded; he didn’t know that Kuroo and Yaku were close. He wordlessly made his way to the third row with no signs of Sawamura just yet. He excused himself past a few other early classmates and sat down at the fourth column, hoping that things wouldn’t be awkward between him and Sawamura.

 

* * *

 

Things were awkward, no doubt.

There was the fact that Sawamura got to class late, a few minutes after the professor started. It was weird, since he was _never_ late. Sure, he’d often come in class seconds before the second bell rang but he was never late.

He probably got stuck in a sort of limbo, trying to look for a parking space at rush hour. _That_ or he woke up late. Probably one of the two.

Sugawara noticed how Sawamura’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw him sitting there instead of their classmate with the perpetual bed hair. The latecomer wordlessly sat down, unable to stop himself from staring at his silver haired seatmate.

Another thing was how Sugawara noticed how much of a rush Sawamura was in due to the patched together outfit he wore. His brunet hair was unkempt and it looked like he didn’t even half enough time to dry it properly. It made Sugawara’s mouth grow dry; he found it so _fucking_ _attractive._ He wanted to punch himself for being muddled with such thoughts this early in the morning.

_God damn, it Suga. You thirsty hoe—_

He came to the conclusion that Sawamura’s outfit looked like it was put together in less than ten minutes. That didn’t change the fact that he still found it fitting for both Sawamura and the situation at hand.

Sugawara’s gaze would gravitate towards his new seatmate a little too often and couldn’t help but notice all those little physical details about him. Something that particularly caught his attention would be how those jeans were slung low and a bit loosely on Sawamura’s hips—were those striped boxers he just saw?

Sugawara couldn’t concentrate at all. His mind was occupied with all sorts of thoughts of the man beside him. Sawamura’s presence right there was enough to make him melt on the spot.

He didn’t want to admit it, but all the things that his professor was discussing? Nothing was getting across. Nothing at all.

Giving in to his immediate fixation on Sawamura, he took a piece of scratch paper from his notebook and jotted something down. The message was short, but he must have reviewed it at least three times before sliding it over to Sawamura’s side of the desk. Biting his lip, he hoped that the brunet would notice the gesture.

Sawamura blinked a few times in confusion before he noticed what his new seatmate was doing. He discreetly took the loose piece of paper and read the small, neatly written message on it.

_woke up late?_

He couldn’t help but smile at this, feeling a silent chuckle escape his lips. With the pen he used a little while ago to write down notes and equations, he started to compose a reply.

_yeah lol. it’s the first time I’ve never scrambled to get to school that fast. 0/10 would not recommend, haha. Not entirely my fault I overslept though!! you were talking to me up until late last night :(_

He slid it back to Sugawara’s side of the desk and the silver haired male was a little too excited to receive this note. Tapping the side of his mouth with his pen, he wrote a reply when the professor had his back turned on them.

_I know~ ❤️ www. Couldn’t help not talking to you, Daichi!! Btw, Sorry if I surprised you since I’m here in Kuroo’s seat_

Sawamura noticed the little doodle of a cat paw beside the reply and felt something inside him melt.

 _it’s fine,_ he paused and tried to go along with the flow. _what brought you here?_

The paper was returned to him a little faster than earlier with a mere two words as a reply.

_no reason. ;)_

Sawamura felt his face grow warm at how much of a tease that sounded—it didn’t help that the winky face conveniently placed beside it was practically making him lose his sense of composure. From his peripheral, he could see Sugawara subtly biting his lower lip while low key glancing at him. He felt his mouth grow dry and ended up scribbling a reply in hopes of diverting the conversation.

_aren’t you going to listen to the lecture?_

Sugawara stared at the reply and bit his lip, writing a reply as he mustered the energy to push his sense of shame away for the time being. He already managed to start this grade school like way of communicating already, so what else was left to lose?

 _can’t. you’re distracting me with how absolutely attractive you look_. _❤️_

_suga, i rushed to class and I’m pretty sure going in here with an unbuttoned polo wasn’t meant to be a fashion statement_

Really though, Sawamura thought of how terrible he must have looked at the moment with an unbuttoned denim polo shirt and an old high school volleyball shirt underneath. He didn’t even have enough time to put on a belt so he kept fixing his jeans when he felt them sinking a bit lower than what he was used to.

_doesn’t matter, it’s still really hot. ❤️ if you want, i can help fix those buttons for you later after class._

_wow, so daring. you’re so thirsty lol. drink water or smth_

Their gazes met and Sugawara bit his lip which was paired with a considerably playful and innocent look in his eyes. It was the first time Sawamura saw that kind of expression on the silver haired male’s face. He gulped. He didn’t expect all of the flirting they managed to do through text to manifest so quickly face to face. Not that he was complaining.

Only problem here was they still had a solid thirty minutes until class ended.

The two tried to look back to the front of the room, noticing quite a bit more of added information on the whiteboards. Their professor never really wrote on the boards to begin with, so they jotted the information down on their respective notebooks and hoped to the gods out there that they would finally pay attention to this class.

Unfortunately, time wanted to play around and dragged on for what seemed to be forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cliffhanger kind of ending because why tf not (retreats to readings and thesis) 
> 
> anyway, the surprise will be here at the end notes. i'd like to say that this little fic will end soon, maybe in a chapter or two. i might make this thing into a little series with the next installment(s) as how daisuga ends up being in a relationship. :') 
> 
> as usual, thank you for reading friends !! kudos, comments, and bookmarks will be very much appreciated~ 


	13. it's now or never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sugawara Koushi decides to muster all the courage to be able to speak out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My main hell week just ended, so hello my loves! 
> 
> Here's the last chapter for this fic, I really had a great time working with this. Thank you for staying by me and seeing these two nerds grow :')

Economics class was a complete disaster for the two of them. Every accidental brush of a thigh, a bump of an elbow, a slide of a finger—these all elicited rather jumpy reactions or awkward, longer than needed stares from the other person. The atmosphere around the two of them could be felt by the people sitting near them and these people collectively gave them space once the class ended.

Neither of them were in a hurry to fix their things, so they spent a few awkward and silent minutes together in the classroom. They walked side by side as they exited the venue with no exchanged words or glances. Sugawara closed his eyes and nodded to himself. _Koushi, it’s now or never!_  He thought about how he was already _flirting_ with the guy anyway, so what more was left to lose?  

“Hey, um, Daichi? Can I talk to you for a bit?” Sugawara’s voice was a little high pitched compared to usual and he couldn’t help but curse his voice for giving himself away. He hoped Sawamura didn’t notice and thankfully, the brunet was caught off guard so nothing was really picked up.

“Sure…?”

The two of them ended up at a halt outside the classroom, nearer to the open area to be a little more considerate for the people passing by.

“Look. Um. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and…” his voice trailed off as he played with the strap of his messenger bag. He wasn’t sure on how to go about this even if it was already _right there._ There was no more turning back. He already made it this far.

Sawamura had an inkling of an idea on what would happen but he decided to reserve his judgement until those words actually slapped him in the face. Even with this plan, he still felt his heartbeat start to race with either anticipation or anxiety. He also felt his cheeks and neck grow warm, a blush already forming.

As if on cue, Sugawara opened his mouth to speak once more, his voice evidently shaky and nervous. His eyes were locked with Sawamura’s and he tried his best not to look away.  

“I like you, Daichi,” his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. He still continued anyway. “You don’t have to answer me right away. I just wanted you to know this so I can get my feelings across.” Sugawara paused once more and took a deep breath to try and compose himself.

Sawamura was stuck on the spot and it felt like his feet were glued on to the floor. Surprise was evident in his eyes, alongside a pinch of disbelief.

Did Sugawara Koushi really admit to liking him? Sawamura wasn’t dreaming, right?

Sawamura struggled to get a hold of himself; he _needed_ to say something. _Anything._ Even something as short as“yes” or an “I like you too!” or even something as ridiculous as “same?” His mouth wouldn’t move; it was totally out of sync with how his brain was blurting out at least 50 replies at that very moment. His knees started to feel a little wobbly and his heart felt like it was going to jump right out of his throat.

Before he could speak, Sugawara continued.

“You know, I was planning my confession to be something a little bit more presentable and not something in the hallway with different students eavesdropping since it’s pretty early in the school day but I don’t really give a shit about that anymore. I’m scared that I’ll run away again and end up avoiding you and that we’ll lose all of this,” he made a few gestures that pertained to something about their friendship and closeness. “So, uhm, yeah. Sawamura Daichi, I really, really like you.”

Though Sugawara _did_ say that Sawamura didn’t need to reply right away, he still anxiously waited and continued to play with the strap of his messenger bag. Only around a minute or two has passed but it felt like forever. It was excruciating to wait for a reply. He didn’t know what to do now with his confession the air and felt the inner corners of his eyes start to grow wet with tears.

He thought that Sawamura was probably weirded out now; he probably didn’t like him the same way.

“I’m sorry, Daichi,” an apologetic smile was resting on his lips and the tears were rolling down his cheeks far faster than he could hold them back. “I don’t really know how this all happened, but I ended up liking you a lot once we started talking a lot ever since the drunk thing and I think that’s kind of silly and ridiculous? Since you were probably just being really nice to me and I found myself falling for you really hard.”

Sawamura’s eyes widened at how all of this went for a sudden turn and seeing how the person of his affections was _crying_ and _apologizing_ for his emotions made him _finally_ do something.

“Don’t apologize.” his words were gentle, his face a little stern. He brought Sugawara close for a hug, not giving a shit about how the latter could probably feel his heartbeat going haywire. His arms were wrapped around him tightly, but not so much that it would hurt. He felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and his shoulder start to grow wet with Sugawara’s tears. Instinctively, he rubbed the shorter male’s back with tender, circular strokes.

They was quiet for a quite a while—the scene elicited a few stares from nearby students and professors passing by—and Sawamura loosed the hug, adjusting so his forehead was against Sugawara’s. He brought his right hand to the older male’s face, wiping those tears that stained his cheeks.

“I like you too, Suga. I like you a lot,” he paused and smiled lovingly at Sugawara. His thumb ran across his cheek, wiping a tear that started rolling down from the corner of his eye.

“I’m sorry if that didn’t come out sooner. I was stunned, okay? I didn’t know how to collect myself and I was practically a pile of goo when I heard those words from you—and I don’t mean that in a bad way! I just—I didn’t expect you to have the same feelings that I have for you.”

Silence filled the air and their gazes were locked with one another’s. The tears eventually stopped flowing from Sugawara’s eyes, and Sawamura had that lopsided smile that the older male remembered oh so clearly.

The quiet atmosphere eventually broke with them laughing quite shamelessly, their faces still really close to each other’s. Even with the little distance separating the two of them, neither of them wanted to move away since being in each other’s arms was comfortable. It felt like it was a perfect fit and it was obvious that both of them shared the same sentiment.

“You—you like me. Sawamura Daichi, you like me.” Sugawara said in disbelief, his mouth still open in surprise and from laughing. 

“Yes, I like you very much, Sugawara Koushi.”

The two of them stayed quiet again with their smiles doing all the talking.

“Shit, Tetsurou was right; we’re both dense as fuck.” Sawamura started, breaking the silence. His lips were still curled up into a smile; it looked as if he was still going to laugh if he looked back into how this entire thing developed.

“Yeah, Tooru said the same thing. Did we not see this coming? I mean, we _did_ nearly kiss in your car the other week—”

Sawamura’s eyes widened at how casually Sugawara brought that up and he couldn’t help but laugh yet again. Pressing his forehead once more against the older male’s, he looked straight into his eyes, taking in how this was all happening.

“We really are dense. I can’t believe ourselves.”

“It’s fine,” Sugawara was about to say more but he noticed how Sawamura’s eyelashes were pretty long—they would probably tickle if he was going to neck him—and felt himself drown in how deep those eyes were once again. He couldn’t help but think about how it was kind of ethereal to hear and see him laugh with this kind of light illuminating his face.

 _God,_ he wanted to kiss him right there.

And that he just did.

Sawamura’s lips were warm; they felt like sunshine against his own. He could feel how Sawamura gasped a bit at the initial contact, but things eventually became comfortable and felt natural. Sawamura tilted his head a little bit to the left, making the kiss a bit deeper and couldn’t help but use his tongue to probe into Sugawara’s mouth.

Sugawara felt like he was going to melt on the spot; it was _everything_ that he imagined. He couldn’t help but bite at Sawamura’s lower lip, a soft groan coming from his throat.

As much as it pained him, Sawamura was the first to break the kiss.

“Sorry,” his eyes were glassed with guilt, especially with how Sugawara pouted at him once the kiss was broken. “Had to stop. Someone might have found it uncomfortable.”

“Mhm, true,” Sugawara’s arms were now loosely wrapped around Sawamura’s hips. “PDA’s something no one really wants to see but I wanted to kiss you even more.”

“You can kiss me later, when we’re not in an open hallway.”

Sugawara bit his lip at how Sawamura’s tone of voice suggested something _more_ than just that playful kiss from earlier. He nodded and couldn’t help but giggle at this proposition.  

“Fine. Later okay? I’m definitely looking forward to kissing you again and again, Daichi.” he paused and raised an eyebrow at what he just remembered. “By the way, speaking of Kuroo, it was his idea to switch seats. Thought you might have wanted to know.”

“Figured as much.” Sawamura’s eyebrows scrunched together as the image of his friend came into mind. “I’d punch him in the gut, but also I’m kind of thankful? Though he definitely owes me his notes since, to be honest, I couldn’t concentrate at all.”

“S-same,” Sugawara admitted sheepishly. “I’m sorry if my messages earlier were a little too flirtatious. You’re just really hot and attractive and I’m very gay and happen to like you very, very much.”

“It’s fine, I’m glad you find me hot and attractive~” Sawamura had a rather triumphant and flirtatious smile on his lips. “Though you definitely need to make up for that. You were such a tease.”

Sugawara had an innocent look on his face at the accusation and couldn’t help but sneak in yet another chaste little kiss on Sawamura’s lips.

“We’re boyfriends now, right?”

“Yeah, we are. Well, if you want us to be.”

“Of course I want us to be boyfriends.”

The idea still hasn’t fully sunk in and as if to confirm what just happened, he spoke once more in hopes of Sugawara telling him it wasn’t a joke and that this was all real.

“Us, boyfriends,” He saw a glimmer of joy in Sugawara’s honey eyes and he couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

“I’m glad, Daichi. I really am,” It was true, he was practically beaming, his smile stretched out from ear to ear right now in spite of how his eyes were still a little red and how his cheeks had streaks of dried up tears. “I don’t think you can see it since I just cried, I’m really, really euphoric right now.” He paused for a moment, trying to take in the entire situation.  “Funny thing is I think we were the last ones to notice.”

“Well, better late than never, right?”

Sugawara nodded and laughed yet again, unable to control himself from looking into Sawamura’s eyes. He couldn’t believe that this man, who was right in front of him, _actually_ reciprocated his feelings.

“… You know, I guess I have to thank all the tequila I drank for this.”

“Excuse me?” Daichi asked, unable to control the chuckle that escaped his lips.

“If I didn’t get that wasted when you came to pick me up, I don’t think this would have ever happened.” Sugawara’s lips were curled into a silly but genuine smile and he couldn’t help but kiss Sawamura once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was probably the cheesiest, most cliche ending I probably made in a really long time but I'm actually happy that I managed to finish this without giving up :') We all knew it was leading up to this moment but wah it was so much fun writing it all~ 
> 
> Once again, thank you so much for everything, by sticking by me by reading this fic, and for all your support via bookmark, kudos, and comment! This was really fun and I think I'll be writing more about these two as promised from my last update. I'm not sure when I'll be making it yet, but if you have any prompts or suggestion feel free to hmu here or on twitter !! ( @daichiswife)

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up if you have any suggestions or questions !! hihi  
> check out my daisuga selfie fic if you have the time, too ~ (shameless plug wah) 
> 
> tumblr: ririseyebrows  
> twitter main: @nanoririmo  
> twitter HQ/anime: @daichiswife


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